White Lightning

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Uncle Clay kept a copper coil behind the feed-store shed Said, “Keep your curious hands away, and mind what I have said” But June came down the ridge road with a lantern in her hand And a jar of white lightning cooling where the creek bends through the land [Chorus] White lightning, bright as winter, sharp as a hound’s first cry You can bottle up the thunder, but you can’t teach it to lie White lightning, keep your secret, let the old hills hold it tight While the fiddle cuts the morning and we roll on through the night [Verse 2] The sheriff’s truck was climbing slow, its tires on the shale We slid that jar beneath the hay and ducked behind the rail June laughed, “That law can chase the moon; it won’t catch what it can’t see” Then Clay came round the corner with a pie for you and me [Chorus] White lightning, bright as winter, sharp as a hound’s first cry You can bottle up the thunder, but you can’t teach it to lie White lightning, keep your secret, let the old hills hold it tight While the fiddle cuts the morning and we roll on through the night [Bridge] Now the still is cold, the shed is bare, the creek keeps running clear But every time the frost comes down, I swear that jar is near [Final Chorus] White lightning, bright as winter, sharp as a hound’s first cry You can bottle up the thunder, but you can’t teach it to lie White lightning, keep your secret, let the old hills hold it tight While the fiddle cuts the morning and we roll on through the night [Outro] Let the old hills hold it tight Roll on through the night